SAP Business One ERP System | ERP Software for Medium-Sized Companies

L-mobile Mobile Software Solutions—SAP Business One ERP Interface

SAP Business One, also known as SB1 and SAP B1, is an ERP system primarily used by small and medium-sized companies, as well as subsidiaries of larger companies. As the SAP for small companies, SAP Business One provides real-time information via business processes which cover a variety of business areas. The modules included in SAP Business One range from financial management and human resources through purchasing and sales processes up to warehouse management and production. In addition, an SAP B1 module for managing support services for customers and suppliers as well as functions for handling project management also provide satisfactory components for planning and control.

You can use SAP B1 either on-premise, i.e. as a server-based operation installed locally, or in the cloud. SAP B1 can also be integrated with the SAP HANA platform when the ERP software is used in medium-sized companies. In addition, the SAP Business One ERP system is designed so that it can be extended by various applications, referred to as add-ons. As they are better integrated in the partner ecosystem, SAP Business One Partners have the ability to customize the ERP system by adding applications to meet the specific requirements of companies. As a result, any medium-sized company can carry out its own SAP Business One integrations to provide the ERP system with exactly the add-ons they need. This in turn makes it possible for you to get the best possible set of modules for your own processes. You can manage your work operations more easily and efficiently, while real-time information provides you with satisfactory transparency over your company. In this way the ERP system for small companies becomes an ideal starting point for the digitalization of your business processes.

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SAP Business One ERP System Overview

The SAP ERP system brought success to the German company of the same name, which had already been one of the market leaders worldwide for decades and by this time was at the fourth generation of enterprise resource planning software, SAP S/4HANA. However, while the comprehensive SAP ERP system is a key factor in digital transformation primarily for national and international corporations and for large companies, SAP the company had to produce a solution for medium-sized companies which was leaner but just as efficient: SAP Business One.

In SAP Business One, the company created an ERP system for small companies in a wide variety of industries which was capable of optimizing and digitalizing business processes—and that was a good 20 years ago. In contrast to its “big brother”, SAP B1 was not internally developed by the company. SAP obtained the basis for its current ERP system for SMEs in 2002, when it acquired TopManage Financial Systems. Since then, the company has continuously developed SAP Business One and has extended it with new modules so that by today, more than 60,000 customers worldwide depend on the software, commonly known as the “SAP for small companies”.

Warehouse Production Field Service

Warehouse management

SAP Business One module for your warehouse management

The ERP system offers medium-sized companies a separate module for managing warehouse processes. Its set of functions are designed to make a wide variety of processes easier, starting with item management through storage bin operations up to goods receipt and goods issue.

As an extension to the warehouse module, the L-mobile warehouse ready for SAP Business One add-on provides companies with a mobile warehouse management solution which brings even greater efficiency and transparency to the warehouse. The mobile data collection software integrates easily with SAP Business One and can be extended by other L-mobile add-ons as necessary. Our starter kit makes it easy for you to begin the integration and contains the most important basic modules required for mobile warehouse management with SAP Business One. The modules provide an ideal foundation for managing the movement of goods through mobile devices, maintaining order picking lists, and performing mobile inventory.

Stock Info SAP Business One

Relocation SAP Business One

Inventory SAP Business One

Goods Receipt SAP Business One

Picking SAP Business One

Production

SAP Business One module for your production

The industry-specific production module makes it possible for medium-sized production companies to manage production orders, lower logistics costs, view standardized reports, and much more.

You can combine the module with L-mobile add-ons which support digital production, to extend the scope of SAP Business One functionality even further. Our production solutions provide you with support, especially in the areas of data collection and production planning. L-mobile APS (advanced planning and scheduling) automated production planning software makes it possible for you to bring your manufacturing order planning process to a new level, while L-mobile BDE digital production data collection, and L-mobile MDE machine data collection solutions provide you with key data from your production operations so you can continuously optimize your production processes.

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Field Service

SAP Business One module for your field service management

The SAP B1 module makes it possible for users to manage and process field service data such as complaints and service agreements. In addition to a central database which stores all items for which your company provides services, the ERP system also provides you with functionality for creating field service reports.

When you extend SAP Business One with L-mobile service, you make your entire field service management process digital—and mobile. From taking in a field service order and assigning your service technicians via a central planning board to supporting your field service technicians out on assignment via a mobile service app up to invoicing, any process can be digitally implemented.

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L-mobile digital service management mobile service solution post image — Field service management software

Other SAP Business One Modules for Medium-Sized Companies

Financial Management
Not just optimizing financial procedures, but above all making them digital— that’s exactly what the functions in the SAP B1 module do for SMEs. Accounting processes become automated, controlling becomes simpler, and banking transactions become faster. Not only that, you can create standardized financial reports and analyze data in real time.
Sales and Customer Management
SAP B1 makes it possible for users to have an overview of the entire customer life cycle. The ERP system also provides tools for managing and analyzing marketing measures and for creating detailed reports on existing sales processes. Customer data are also stored in a central location in SAP Business One.
Purchasing and Stock Control
SAP Business One makes it possible for you to easily and digitally manage and monitor your purchasing and payment processes. The range of functions provided by the ERP system also includes master data management as well as a digital accounts payable function which makes it easy to process all postings.

Business Intelligence
Evaluations and analyses are an essential tool for making future processes more efficient, not only for large corporations, but for medium-sized companies as well. With SAP B1 you can create interactive dashboards and reports so you have your most important information at your fingertips. This set of functionality is supplemented with real-time analyses and integration of standard functions from Microsoft Excel.
Human Resources Management
The ERP system also provides a module to manage human resources. The module not only makes it possible for you to manage employee master data but also log working times and create reports.
Project Management
SAP Business One provides a separate module which makes it possible for you to digitally manage projects and store all project data at one central location. You can also manage subprojects and create project reports.

Excerpt from the History of the SAP Business One ERP System

2002
SAP Buys TopManage
SAP buys the former TopManage Financial Solutions, the foundation for today’s SAP Business One
2006
E-Commerce and CRM Functions
E-commerce and CRM functionality are extended through acquisition of Praxis Software. Integration of NetPoint Commerce (NPC) and NetPoint Focus (NPF)
2006
10,000 Customers
The SBO solution for medium-sized companies is now used by 10,000 customers
2003–2007
Expansion of Markets
Development of SBO in three different regions (Germany, China, Slovakia) to speed geographic expansion
2008
Standardization of Versions
Merging of two regional versions (Europe/North America and Asia/South America) in order to achieve benefit for all countries
2009
New Level of Quality
Version 8.8 (a lucky number in the Asian region) was put on the market. This was a significant milestone, as SAP Business One was raised to a new level of quality.
2011
SAP HANA
SAP announces SAP HANA. Planning begins for migration of SAP Business One to SAP Hana
2012
SAP BO in the Cloud
SBO now also available on-demand in the cloud
2013
SAP 9.0
SAP Business One 9.0 is released. SBO version for SQL and SAP HANA
2016
New Set of Functions
New set of functions for SBO: intelligent analyses, project management as well as an app with which key business functions can be accessed

SAP Business One Versions

2009	2013	2020
8.8 and up	9.0–9.3	10.0

Interface to SAP Business One

SAP Business One constitutes the principal system for all L-mobile add-ons integrated. To make it possible for L-mobile processes to be ideally adapted to SAP Business One, we have provided a database mapper to enhance the ERP system’s reading of data. The database mapper generates native SQL on the MS SQL server and as a result is able to provide relevant data for mobile display which cannot be read by the ERP system.

The L-mobile interface to SAP Business One communicates via a REST API (http or https) provided by the given SAP Business One version. Business objects from SAP B1 as well as posting function can be called via the REST API. Use of the online interface ensures that transactions are posted to SAP Business One in the shortest possible time.

Our expertise extends well beyond standard SAP, and we have the ability to customize our software solution to integrate whatever needs you might have. We’re always ready to help you—just get in touch with our SAP Business One consultant.

With the ERP System for Medium-Sized Companies in the Cloud

“SAP for Small Companies” comes in two versions. First, companies can choose to go with an on-premise solution, which means that the ERP software is installed locally on company equipment. This variant provides the advantage that you can access your own data directly and have complete control over it. You can use your already-existing hardware and IT infrastructure, and SAP Business One will work even without an active Internet connection. However, the effort and costs required for implementing the on-premise solution are relatively high, and your IT department needs to install software updates manually every time a new update is released. In addition, you yourself are responsible for the security of your data, which means that your company must have a solid data protection management system. All in all however, SAP Business One On-Premise provides a sound basis for the digitalization of your business processes.

The second variant for using the ERP system is SAP Business One’s cloud solution. In this license model companies pay a monthly fee, based on the type and number of licenses, for the privilege of using SAP Business One in the cloud. As a result, your employees have Internet access to the data in the ERP system at all times and from any location. Data security in this model is always ensured since most data centers today are very well-protected—generally better than most companies themselves. In addition to high security and flexibility in terms of time and location, SAP Business One Cloud offers other advantages:

Cost-Effective Option
As compared to the on-premise solution, it’s clearly more cost-effective to use SAP B1 in the cloud. The reason for this is the upfront costs, such as those required for implementing the local variant and which are not required in the cloud. In addition, the subscription model provides a certain flexibility which makes costs easier to estimate and calculate.
Fast Implementation
Companies which use SAP Business One in the cloud can begin to use the ERP system much more quickly than the on-premise version. This is because the software doesn’t first need to be installed on all company devices, and instead is ready for online use as soon as an Internet connection is available.
Greater Dependence on Physical Problems
A local server is significantly more susceptible to physical problems than the cloud. Hard drive and memory failures are not a rarity, and even general network problems can affect work with SAP Business One On-Premise. By contrast, the cloud solution is not dependent upon these physical factors—it only requires an Internet connection.

Advantages of SAP Business One

Lean system for small and medium-sized companies

Can be extended with wide variety of add-ons

Available as on-premise solution or in the cloud

Industry-independent ERP system

Integration of variety of mobile software solutions from L-mobile

Transparency over all business processes

In use by more than 60,000 customers worldwide

Integrates easily within Microsoft landscape, through MS SQL Server

Continuous release updates

SAP Business One Add-Ons from L-mobile

Mobile Solutions for Warehouse Management, Production, and Field Service Management to Extend Functionality for Medium-Sized Companies

SAP Business One Add-Ons is the name for software solutions through which the ERP system and its standard set of functions can be extended. They make it possible for companies to implement industry-specific as well as company-specific requirements. In general, integrating such add-ons into SAP Business One is a relatively simple process and allows companies to quickly make use of new functions and modules. By now, more than 500 such extensions are available on the market worldwide—and these include our L-mobile add-ons for mobile data collection in the warehouse, production, and field service management.

Mobile Warehouse Management Solution Digital Production Mobile Field Service

Integration of L-mobile Add-On for Mobile Warehouse Management in SAP Business One

The warehouse management module included in SAP Business One is used to optimize stock and warehouse management. Functions such as managing item master data records, price lists and movement of goods, series and batch numbers, order picking and packaging provide the best possible basis for your warehousing. All of these warehouse processes and others can be managed from mobile devices by using the L-mobile warehouse ready for SAP Business One add-on, meaning you can use the mobile application to further simplify overall warehouse planning and management. All data collected during processes are transferred to your SAP Business One system in real time. Conversely, all information from your ERP system can be accessed via a mobile barcode scanner, so your warehouse personnel have mobile, digital access to the data they need for their tasks, from anywhere in your warehouse. As a result, you no longer need to manually maintain data in SAP B1. In addition, your employees will have more time available, since paper documents and lists will no longer be required in the future, as all information will be available on mobile handheld scanners.

Exactly what kind of support is provided by the mobile warehouse management add-on? The example of goods receipt will show you the kinds of advantages that using a mobile, digital scanner solution will bring. In the goods receipt process, items are entered in the system using the mobile data collection solution on the barcode scanner to input the information on the delivery note. In addition, the solution scans for available storage bins and posts the goods to a suitable bin. Warehouse personnel will find all information required for that purpose, such as quantities being put away and search storage locations, via the stock information available on their mobile handheld devices—since that device displays all data from SAP Business One in real time. This in combination with easy data collection not only makes the process faster, but also provides for greater transparency in warehouse management.

In the same way that SAP B1 can be adapted to the size of your company and to your industry-specific requirements, the mobile warehouse management solution adapts itself to your needs. L-mobile warehouse ready for SAP Business One contains all relevant modules you need to implement a mobile, digital warehouse management system. Then you can use additional extension modules and/or other L-mobile add-ons to customize the software to fit your processes—our team of developers and project managers have the experience and know-how required to make these customizations.

Integration of L-mobile Add-Ons for Digital Production Processes in SAP Business One

While the SAP Business One production module makes it possible for companies to plan and manage production and assembly processes and to control the entire production process by creating bills of materials and production orders, the standard functions of the ERP system do not support the management of work operations. However, when the ERP system is extended by product-specific add-ons, medium-sized companies will also be able to take advantage of the ability to digitize other processes. L-mobile provides SAP Business One users a variety of production solutions for this purpose. These include L-mobile APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) automated production planning software, L-mobile BDEproduction data collection, and L-mobile MDE machine data collection.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling with L-mobile APS for Automated Production Planning

One of the greatest challenges in production is to manage manufacturing orders in such a way that resources and capacities are sensibly used. Production orders can be used digitally, but they frequently lack the ability to report data back to the system. The lack of transparency as well as high search times for both items and orders lead to delays in delivery schedules. L-mobile APS is a production planning system for planning capacities and resources for manufacturing orders. The system creates optimized planning scenarios based on an algorithm or using a manual planning function. A visually appealing, user-friendly interface for the production planning software makes it easy for you to get started and ensures you always have the overview you need of your planning process.

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Production Data Collection: Greater Transparency in Production Thanks to L-mobile Production Data Collection

In order to counteract numerous handwritten notes on paper as well as manual data entry after production processes are completed, it can be a good idea to integrate a production data collection system (BDE) in SAP Business One. All work stations are represented digitally in L-mobile Production Data Collection and equipped with modern production data collection terminals at their location. Production data such as employee ID, quantities, reported times, and current status of a manufacturing order can be digitally input right at the production location. Your production personnel just use their terminals to easily enter information on the status of the work operation: Setup, start, interruption, fault or end. The information is posted in SAP Business One seamlessly, automatically, and instantly, which also significantly increases transparency.

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Machine Data Collection: Use L-mobile Machine Data Collection to Increase Productivity in Production

Not just production data, but also large volumes of machine data can be automatically input using the right add-ons. The efficient L-mobile MDE machine data collection system supports a wide variety of machine types so that all of your process data are always available. With information on production quantities, operating conditions, test results and other process data being automatically transferred to SAP Business One, your production process becomes more efficient and more transparent, since manual processes for maintaining data are no longer necessary.

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Integration of L-mobile Add-Ons for Mobile Field Service Processes in SAP Business One

The communication channels between service office staff, your customers and field service staff lead to high complexity in service operations. Both your office staff as well as your service technicians require reliable access to service and master data, such as customer data, field service orders, and materials, at all times. In the case of service technicians, this access should also be possible when a technician is on the move.

A service management system with a planning board and mobile service app provides a good basis for greater efficiency in your service organization. With L-mobile service as an add-on for SAP Business One, you can manage your entire customer base using stored service agreements and installed devices. Your service office staff accesses the customer base and creates a field service work order when they receive a fault report. The service management system automatically generates relevant information such as customer, machine, and contract data. After the order is released to scheduling, the planning board is used to schedule one or more technicians for the field service order. Your field service technicians also become digital, and from now on can dispense with time-consuming, confusing phone calls and emails. Instead, your field service staff immediately has all orders assigned to them displayed on their tablet or smartphone (iOS, Android, Windows) mobile device. Customer, customer location, route planning, fault report, and machines and equipment which require repair—all information is available at a glance.

By using self-defined checklists you can also provide your technical field service staff with support so they can properly service, repair, and maintain systems. All materials used, as well as time spent and expenses paid, are easily documented via the tablet. And the best thing is that your service technicians don’t require an Internet connection to do all this— all data can be recorded offline. Once the technician again has network access, the app is synchronized and your service office staff can immediately start post-processing and billing of the field service work order. As a result, time-consuming paper notes and illegible expense reports are a thing of the past.

Successful After-Sales Service, Thanks to Digitalization

5 reasons to use a mobile field service solution

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SAP Business One Industry Solutions

Customizable, mobile solutions for warehouse, production and field service management

L-mobile, SAP Business One, Branchenlösungen, mobile Lagerverwaltung

Whether it’s trade, machine and plant engineering, the automobile industry or the energy sector, small and medium-sized companies are strongly represented in virtually every market today. Many SMEs in these industries depend on the SAP Business One ERP system, developed especially by SAP for use by medium-sized companies, for the digital processing of their finances, master data, and documents, and for basic functions in warehouse and production. Our L-mobile add-ons therefore provide you with the perfect starting point for taking on your industry-specific demands.

While mobile warehouse management is a crucial factor for long-term market success, especially for wholesalers and retailers, automated digital solutions such as L-mobile APS and machine data collection primarily benefit production companies in industry. You can find out exactly how our SAP Business One industry solutions can support your company and also learn about the positive experiences our customers have already had with the ERP system by visiting our SAP Business One industry page.

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Digitalization Strategy for SAP Business One

Using digitalization to link together business areas such as purchasing, warehouse management and production as well as sales and customers

For a medium-sized company to have the ability to continue to develop in the future with regard to process digitalization, it needs IT systems to link together business processes in a meaningful way. Excel lists are no longer a satisfactory solution in most planning processes, and at best are difficult to manage when sales order volumes are high. When you take a look at the production process, the cause of almost all problems is late, incorrect or missing information. Demands for accurate, cost-effective, on-time planning are high, especially when it comes to the production processes of medium-sized production companies.

The solution: To provide transparency over resources, capacities, and deviations by providingquality information at the right time and in the right quantity to the right location. To achieve this, individual business processes can no longer be considered separately, but must be coordinated with one another as part of a comprehensive digitalization strategy. Upstream and downstream processes such as purchasing, warehouse management, and sales need to work together with production. The goal here is to reduce the work required for coordination as well as the complexity of processes so as to achieve clarity over material availability and enable an error-free manufacturing process—and to achieve transparency over the production process by linking together systems using SAP Business One.

Digital Linking of Production Processes

How you can implement a comprehensive digitalization strategy with SAP Business One and the right add-ons

L-mobile whitepaper: Digitalization strategy for mid-sized production companies – Optimized value streams through the data networking of systems and processes

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L-mobile Provides You with a Wide Variety of Mobile Functions Tailored to Your SAP Business One ERP System

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